The present invention generally relates to puzzles. More particularly, the present invention relates to a three-dimensional puzzle game requiring assembly of a variety of puzzle pieces to form self-standing structures in an educational manner.
A puzzle is a toy that tries the ingenuity and taxes the patience of a player. A puzzle game usually involves a selection and sequential assembly of a plurality of polygonal shape pieces of varying contour to recreate an original image about a flat sheet board. Such puzzles are typically referred to as jigsaw puzzles.
More recently, there have developed a number of different types of three-dimensional jigsaw puzzles. These are typically designed to be self-standing structures which have a plurality of walls, each of which essentially comprises a two-dimensional puzzle in and of itself. With this form of puzzle, the walls which form the structure must be joined in some effective manner. This is particularly true where the three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle is adapted to be assembled into a building-like structure when the walls are to be joined at the corners thereof.
While some three-dimensional puzzles rely upon the joining of mating and interlocking edges, similar to a two-dimensional jigsaw puzzle, in order to form the three-dimensional structure, yet others utilize locking pins and the like.
Yet other three-dimensional self-standing puzzle structures utilize planar puzzle pieces having dovetail joints at edgewise sections for interlocking engagement with complimentary, edgewise, dovetail joints of adjacent puzzle pieces. Other three-dimensional puzzles require assembly or disassembly of the puzzle in a specific sequence. The plurality of interlocking pieces must be manipulated in a prescribed sequence in order to solve the puzzle.
Past art has described a variety of two-dimensional puzzles and games which aid in learning the relationships of similar designs, etc. on planar surfaces, such as, matching games in which images, colors, words, etc. must be matched together to be correct or to solve a puzzle or riddle. However, such puzzles and games do not offer the challenge of assembling a three-dimensional structure, nor the educational process of manipulating three-dimensional structures in space. They do not require that the player understand three-dimensional geometrical relationships and are of little benefit in improving the coordination necessary for manipulating a three-dimensional object in space in relation to other like three-dimensional objects.
Accordingly, there is a continuing need for a three-dimensional puzzle utilizing educational matching or problem solving games in order to create a three-dimensional structure. Such a game puzzle should be capable of being solved by people of various skills and ages. Such a puzzle game should also preferably be multi-use in nature so that a single puzzle game can create more than one three-dimensional object, and as such capable of being taken apart and reassembled. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides other related advantages.
The present invention resides in a three-dimensional puzzle game which can be used to create three-dimensional objects of various size and complexity. The present invention is intended to assist the builder, typically children, in learning relationships of similar designs and presenting the challenge of presenting a three-dimensional structure. The present invention also serves an educational purpose in that constructing the three-dimensional object requires solving problems, matching, or providing correct answers to a given problem or query.
The three-dimensional puzzle game of the present invention generally comprises a plurality of puzzle elements each having at least one connector, usually a slot or tab. Typically, the corresponding tabs or slots of the puzzle elements are removably connected to one another. Indicia, in the form of a problem or answer, is associated with corresponding tab or slot connectors. The problem and answer may be selected from math, geography, chemistry, language, science, or color matching problems and answers, or any other educational problem.
The three-dimensional object is constructed by interconnecting the plurality of puzzle elements by matching the indicia of the corresponding connectors to form the three-dimensional puzzle. This comprises mating the relevant problem tab or slot of one puzzle element with the corresponding answer tab or slot of another puzzle element in order to construct the three-dimensional object.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following more detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention.